Wiring issues

[scook]

Unless the insulation on your wiring is stiff and cracking, I wouldn't even think about anything close to complete rewiring.

If your boat was used in the salt a lot, like mine was, your main issue is probably corroded connections, not bad wiring. Most of these can be made right by cleaning them and protecting them with electrical grease. Some of the connectors on the ends of wires may be badly eroded from corrosion or there will be bad corrosion in the stranded wire at the connection. I bought a good crimping tool and a supply of connectors that are waterproof (they have a heat shrink insulating sleeve with some goop inside that really seals out water).

Mine is an '85 and had generations of electronics come and go. I got almost two 5 gallon buckets full from stripping out wire that wasn't doing anything any more. It was amazing how much simpler it was to follow wires that were in use with it cleaned up. You'll probably want to remove the rod boxes for access to some of the wiring.

[earle]

Originally Posted by scook

Unless the insulation on your wiring is stiff and cracking, I wouldn't even think about anything close to complete rewiring.

If your boat was used in the salt a lot, like mine was, your main issue is probably corroded connections, not bad wiring. Most of these can be made right by cleaning them and protecting them with electrical grease. Some of the connectors on the ends of wires may be badly eroded from corrosion or there will be bad corrosion in the stranded wire at the connection. I bought a good crimping tool and a supply of connectors that are waterproof (they have a heat shrink insulating sleeve with some goop inside that really seals out water).

Mine is an '85 and had generations of electronics come and go. I got almost two 5 gallon buckets full from stripping out wire that wasn't doing anything any more. It was amazing how much simpler it was to follow wires that were in use with it cleaned up. You'll probably want to remove the rod boxes for access to some of the wiring.

Thanks for the tips. I'll take my time and address one wire at a time. Just a quick look shows a lot of wires with corrosion at the conections

[scook]

Its kind of a fun type of project. A lot of satisfaction to cut off the gob of corrosion and leave it with a clean watertight terminal. I use dielectric grease to protect from further corrosion - can get it at an auto parts store. Put it on before assembling the connection so it covers everything - it is an insulating product, but it won't be a connection problem.